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Will the Indian team management allow Kuldeep Yadav to face Sri Lanka in the upcoming two-match Test series? The question carries significant weight after the ODI series against England, where Kuldeep travelled with the team across the venues, but did not feature in a single match.
Sri Lanka is often pointed out as the land for the spinners. Kuldeep Yadav is among the spinners who have enough quality and experience to produce significant figures on spin-friendly tracks. In the three-daywarm-up match against the Sri Lanka Cricket XI at NCC Ground in Colombo, the 31-year-old claimed a brace in the first innings of the match.
What will be India's spin bowling combination for the 1st Test vs Sri Lanka?
After the conclusion of the practice match, Team India spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule expressed satisfaction with their preparations before taking on the host, Sri Lanka, for a Test series starting on August 15.
At the press conference, he was asked about the possible combination of spinners for the spinners. Bahutule stated that they are yet to decide.
"Firstly, I think the bowlers had a great opportunity to go down and express themselves on a pitch which was slightly on a flatter side on the first day. But as the days went by, there was more turn on to it and definitely a good outing for the spinners. Kuldeep bowled almost 20 overs in the sense - 18 in the match and about 2-3 overs before the game also,” Bahutule said in the match after the press conference.
The team combination will be decided in Galle
Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, and Saransh Jain were the four spinners who bowled in the practice match. Bahutule reflected that all four of these spinners have their own characteristics. The combination of spinners will be decided only after reaching Galle. The India vs Sri Lanka 1st Test match will be in Galle.
"I think that call will be taken only once we reach Galle. But all 4 spinners have that uniqueness. We have got experience with Jaddu. We have got great accuracy levels with Manoj Suthar and obviously, Saransh has got experience," the coach explained.
Kuldeep Yadav's workload under the scanner
The workload management of Kuldeep Yadav is also under the scanner ahead of the Test series. He joined after playing five One Day Cup matches for Yorkshire. In those five matches, he took 9 wickets, emerging as a regular wicket-taker for them. Kuldeep's last match for the English club was on August 2, and five days later, he played for India in Sri Lanka.
"He (Kuldeep Yadav) had a very good outing, and he just wanted to take a break in terms of just understanding how his body is at and the rest of the spinners got that opportunity and they bowled their overs," Sairaj Bahutule explained when the reporters asked him to put some light on Kuldeep's workload.
"One bowled 14, Manav bowled about 14-15 overs, Jaddu bowled about 14-15 overs. So, they got a very good outing; they understood how the pitch reacts, and I think it was a great prep for them,” he added.
